The proof is in the PDF.

H.R. 3675: To prohibit Federal grants to or contracts with Columbia University.

This Act may be cited as the "Restore Patriotism to University Campuses Act".

Supporting free speech is patriotic, and Duncan Hunter is still crazy.

Schwarzenegger: ""Our job is to recognise the issues that matter to the people the most and to solve them. Issues like health care, balanced budgets, economic development, education reform, public safety, infrastructure and of course global warming and protecting the environment. These are not conservative or liberal issues. They are issues everyone cares about."

Gingrich: "I think we would clearly have been competitive financially within three weeks, and we literally had not even set up the Web site yet. "But what hit me was it would have been an underdog campaign. I mean, clearly, if you were going to come from behind, I think it would have been a real campaign. I think we would have had a chance to win."

Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton: "Because life is about choices, I think we have to consider the use of military force. I think we have to look at a limited strike against their nuclear facilities. If we were to strike Iran it should be accompanied by an effort at regime change … The US once had the capability to engineer the clandestine overthrow of governments. I wish we could get it back."

The Wall Street Journal: "Giuliani doesn't need more weird."

Christian Conservatives: “If the Republican Party nominates a pro-abortion candidate we will consider running a third party candidate.”

Bill Clinton: accused Democratic rivals who criticised his wife of “rewarding the Republican attack machine” that had “beaten up on her for 16 years."

The U.S. Embassy in Iraq: "Iraq's leaders must and will take the lead in determining how to achieve these national aspirations. … attempts to partition or divide Iraq by intimidation, force or other means into three separate states would produce extraordinary suffering and bloodshed."

Tim Rutten, L.A. Times: "One of the world's truly dangerous men, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, left New York a clear winner this week, and he can thank the arrogance of the American academy and most of the U.S. news media's studied indifference for his victory."

Kanye West: "I mean, I have a hard time believing that George Bush cares about anyone. So, sidebar, black people also. You know?"

McCain:I just have to say in all candor that since this nation was founded primarily on Christian principles … personally, I prefer someone who I know who has a solid grounding in my faith," McCain said. "But that doesn't mean that I'm sure that someone who is Muslim would not make a good president."

Michigan Governor Michelle Granholm, on the shutdown of state government: ""Seven months ago, I proposed a comprehensive solution that would have resolved the state's budget crisis through a combination of budget cuts, government reforms, and new revenue. Since then, the Legislature has failed to agree on my solution or any other. Their failure to act has brought us to this day. They need to act with urgency on a balanced budget and send the bills to my desk."

Tom Friedman: "9/11 has made us stupid."

September 26th - The U.S. Senate urges Bush to declare the Iranian Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization.

September 29th - The Iranian Parliament declares the CIA and the U.S. Army terrorist organizations.

So this is what it's come down to now - name calling? The most powerful country in the world and a rising power in the Middle East are trading insults? Does anyone else here feel like we're living in the twilight zone?

It's like we're in fifth grade all over again: "You're mean!"

"No you're mean!"

It's time for a time-out for everyone. This is fucking ridiculous.

It’s been a while…

Every time a big time Republican turns out to be gay an Angel gets its wings. I really believe that. How bout Senator Larry “Wide Stance” Craig? Did anyone else find themselves in a bathroom stall attempting to see just how wide a stance it takes to get your foot underneath the next stall? I did, and since I’m not particularly tall, I think I pulled a hamstring. There’s no way could I have pulled off the foot tapping either. Larry Craig, my friends, is a professional, like Reverend Haggard, whom my friend Tim dubbed “the world’s biggest bottom over.” Who would’ve thought that a Republican who hated gays would like to hook up with men in public restrooms at the Minneapolis Airport of all places (I’ve been there…EW!). It’s bad enough that people go to the bathroom on the seat, but come on. Early in my youth I made a comment, I think I was 17 or so, that homosexuals should be allowed to marry and be accepted wholly in society just so people would stop hooking up in bathrooms across America. Apparently the scribbling on the stall that said, “For a good time vote for Senator Craig, and be here 7pm on the 29th” was not a joke after all.

I think it’s one thing to be in the heat of passion with your partner of choice and “lower the health code of a restaurant” if you will, and it’s fun because you do it once. However, this is a culture…and why Democrats haven’t mentioned this is beyond me. What does the Democratic Party need after the Page Scandal, Senator Vitter and his whores, and the good Reverend? Does President Bush have to sacrifice a Jew baby in the rose garden? Get with it! Speaking of Senator Vitter, why is it ok for him to cheat on his wife and pay for sex yet Senator Craig had Idaho, and the Senate, demanding his resignation? This is a sad statement for America: paying for sex is more acceptable than homosexuality. If I can just get American Express to understand that the next time I’m at the Bunny Ranch, my outlook on that subject just might change.

After three days of aggressive crackdowns, hundreds of people continue to participate in anti-government protests in Myanmar (Burma). Aspecial envoy from the UN arrived today to meet with the Burmese junta; foreign leaders have urged the junta to end the crisis peacefully.

Despite the government's efforts to shut down access to the Internet, the BBC has received the following reports from people in Burma or in contact with people there.

Kurdish separatists opened fire on a bus in south-east Turkey, killing twelve.

A bomb blast on a bus in Kabul, Afghanistan has killed twenty-seven. Amidst the violence, for which the Taliban have claimed responsibility, President Hamid Karzai has requested a meeting with Taliban leaders in order to bring peace to Afghanistan.

The Topps Meat Company, based in New Jersey, has expanded its recall of beef patties for fear of e.coli contamination.

"there’s no music more relaxing than the eek-eek-eek of a delivery truck in reverse" Can America match Europe's cafe culture?

There is a large and vocal contingent of Americans who don't believe the official version of the 9/11 story. They believe 9/11 was an inside job, perhaps perpetrated by our own government. They have amassed a large body of evidence, some convincing, some not, to prove their point and to uncover the "truth."

While I'm not drawn to conspiracy theories, this one seems to have a lot of dedicated and intelligent people who believe in it. While researching their cause, however, I was puzzled. While I could find pages upon pages of evidence they claim supports their version of the truth, I could not find one explanation on any site as to why finding out the truth about 9/11 is important. This kind of information might be obvious to 9/11 truthers themselves, but for a skeptic like me, knowing the goals and reasoning behind these groups is really important.

By scouring a lot of websites, I was able to put some reasoning together. 9/11 truthers rightly claim that the events of 2001 were used by George Bush, our government, and our media to advance some violent and downright misguided policies. The invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, the Patriot Act and warrantless wiretapping, Guantanamo Bay and CIA licensed torture, and all sorts of other legislation and rights abuses were directly caused by 9/11 or the political and social climate that was left in its wake. Certainly Bush took advantage of that climate to advance his agenda.

However, there's a big problem: If America were to wake up tomorrow and suddenly know through some irrefutable evidence that 9/11 was an inside job, it wouldn't change a thing.

TITLE FIGHT:

iced decaf triple grande five pump soy no whip Mocha vs. black coffee from McDonald's

To many, especially those of us who live on either coast, rural America consists of the states that you fly over on your way from LA to New York or vice versa. People on the coasts regard rural American folk as ignorant, whereas the latter adamantly believe that ‘coasties’ are arrogant and out of touch. Since I’ve lived in both places, I believe I can say that both of these statements aren’t just true for each group, they’re actually true statements in general. People on the coasts, politically speaking, are completely out of touch. They have no idea what goes on in the land where corn comes from. They don’t know how these people speak and behave, and they rely solely on media constructions of the “values vote” to inform their thinking on rural people. Rural Americans, who also focus through the media, find big-city livin to be something alien to them… I mean, who the fuck pays $1,000 in rent for a studio apartment anyway?

I used to think that the “liberal” lifestyle was kind of a myth and more of a Republican red-meat for the masses statement. Then I moved to Seattle and traveled more extensively on the West coast. First off, when I told people I worked in politics I got a completely different reaction than I got when I lived in the Midwest. The first response was a hesitant, “What party do you work for?” When I replied that I worked for the Democratic Party there was first a sigh of relief and then a 15 minute explanation of everything that I and the Party was doing wrong…basically someone reciting what they read in the online version of the New York Times. Seattle, for all its political knowledge, is an entire city of people who think alike but adamantly refuse to admit it…people here like to think that their opinion is unique. It’s not unique, Maureen Dowd has already said it, but it took her longer to get to the point. This homogeneity of opinion is different from rural America.

States like Ohio, (and hell, even Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, basically all states with a decent Big City/Small Town mix) are more diverse than places such as LA, San Fran, New York, Chicago, Boston, and Seattle. First off, these states are more diverse, politically speaking, because in order to win these states in an election (a statewide election) you have to win more than certain cities. Ohio, for all its flaws in 2004, proved that if you win 4 of the top 5 cities and lose the rural vote then you lose the state, and ultimately the election. Same goes for Michigan, PA, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky etc etc etc.

Rural Americans are a lot more political than people think, but their politics are far more reserved. They have better things to do than protest about anything (therefore, they know that the people who are protesting are nut jobs). However, if you sit them down (which I’ve done in focus groups), the political animal within the 55-year-old farmer/police dispatch man comes out of the woodwork. I find the rural American voter to be, honestly, less informed than the coastie voter, but this is a good thing. There’s often too much information out there, and people on the coasts, I feel, are often over-informed. Anyone can watch the news, or read the news, and get the answers that they want. I think people that casually read headlines, or even the local paper on occasion, might be as informed as someone who avidly reads and watches the news every night. Sure, they may not be able to write a dissertation on a given topic, but you get the gist.

However, the rural American voter is complex. Here’s a list of common responses I’ve gotten from these marvels of the political community:

Just a quick update on this post from earlier in the week.

Reuters:

An effort by U.S. lawmakers to extend a moratorium on state Internet access taxes has stalled amid a dispute over whether the ban should be permanent or temporary.

The Senate Commerce Committee canceled a planned vote on a bill on Thursday that would have extended the tax ban for at least four more years after a possible compromise on the issue fell through.

Senators on both sides of the issue had sought a compromise that would have extended the moratorium to six years. But Inouye canceled the vote on Thursday when it became apparent that several senators from both parties would vote for a permanent ban instead.

Please keep contacting your Senators about this.

Why Do Our Politicians Suck?

Giuliani does everything because of 9/11, apparently. In case you haven't heard, the guy's a lightweight - he's got one card and it's, um, been played already.

We have 8 days left…before Congress makes warrantless wiretapping permanent, and:

There may be potential new loopholes allowing even greater invasions of privacy of American citizens, and a sweeping granting of immunity to lavishly-donating telecommunication companies.

Feldman at Frameshop has a brilliant analysis of how Hillary's frontrunner status has culminated in the (current) victory of her framing of the Iraq War. Why is that important? Because it might keep us there until 2013. Beginning with the consequences of calling Iraq a "war" and not an occupation, he culminates with this analysis:

Iraq is seen as an opportunity to demonstrate to the electorate that the Democratic Party candidate is strong–in militaristic terms–rather than an opportunity to demonstrate the problem solving skills of the Democratic Party. The idea that the Democratic Party is still perceived as 'weak' on defense and that this perception is the major electoral vulnerability–this logic has grown even stronger since the 2006 elections. Whereas large segments of the population believed they were voting for the Democrats for their ability to solve problems–to find the way to end the Iraq war and bring U.S. forces home–the Democratic Party appears to be focusing its 2008 Presidential campaign at those voters who want a candidate who can demonstrate military strength.

American decline?

All bets off? Independents and "second-choice" voters may render current polls meaningless come primary time.

Quick Tour Overseas: Disaster, Crisis, and Suffering

The Taliban, in combination with aerial bombing, are displacing thousands of Afghans.

Gordon Brown believes deaths in Burma have been significantly higher than official reports indicate.

This is not news, but is worth remembering: Darfur is a transnational conflict and genocide.

Somalia "teeters on edge of survival."

*****************

My apologies if the world through my eyes seems a touch bleak today. Let's find some causes for optimism over the weekend, shall we?

Coming October 1st, The Seminal will be tackling the education system, looking at the problems, some solutions, and the costs and arguments surrounding what is probably America's most important and thorniest domestic issue. Stay tuned for the first article coming on Monday!